A unexpected turn
by Jossasund
Summary: A terrible car accident changes the life for two families.


**A one shot inspiered by a prompt from Facebook. Hope you like it! Don't forget to leave some love if so :)**

The day had started like any other. Emma and her wife, Lily, had eaten breakfast on their small balcony, sharing laughs along with kisses, and discussing their plans for the weekend.

They were supposed to visit Emma's parents who lived a couple hours away, to celebrate their four year anniversary. The sun was warm and the birds were singing. Nobody would expect how this day would turn into a nightmare.

"Come on baby, I've renovated the car all summer and I've been dying to show it off to my dad! " Emma said with a pout, and Lily rolled her eyes playfully. "Within a blink it's gonna be autumn and then winter, and I don't want it to just collect dust in the garage… "

"I swear to God, it's like I'm married to a kid sometimes.. "

"Maybe" Emma shrugged, then kissed her wife. "But you love me, now don't you? "

"Sadly I do.. " Lily replied with a mischievous smile and gave Emma's shoulder a playful nudge. "But that still doesn't mean I want to travel across the country in that monster of a car.."

Emma had spent her whole summer in her garage, renovating her absolute dream car which was a red Camaro from 1968, and even if Lily didn't know a thing about cars, or even understood what the fuss was about, she didn't interfere. It was Emma's hobby so she supported her.

Lily herself didn't have such specific hobby more than she preferred to take care of the apartment, which was much to Emma's relief since the younger blonde didn't even know how a vacuum cleaner worked. And she had almost burned down the kitchen once when she had planned to surprise Lily with dinner so Emma was more or less forbidden to do anything around the house anyway.

The two lived in a two bedroom apartment in the suburbs, and had renovated the whole place together with Emma's parents help. They absolutely loved Lily, and had done so from day one.

Emma and Lily worked at the local police station, and were friends with absolutely everyone in the small town. Neither of them felt the need for kids though, and preferred to live as they did. They were two free spirits without any big responsibilities.

"You're not going to cave on this, now are you? " Lily asked as she lit a cigarette, and met Emma's green, twinkling eyes. God, how Lily loved those eyes. So kind and so sincere. She could still drown in them... even after all these years.

"Nope, not this time. So, I can sit here all day if you want to, cause I wanna drive my damn Camaro with you, if that's the last thing I'll do!" Emma replied with a stern, yet playful tone in her voice.

Emma studied Lily in silence for awhile, thinking that before she had come into her life, Emma had been lonely. She had told herself that she simply didn't need anyone, but Lily had completely turned her life upside down. And God was she happy about that. She had made Emma bloom out completely.

"Fine! We'll take the Camaro!" Lily finally said with a groan.

"Yes! " Emma said as she fistbumped the air.

"But, only one condition though baby" Lily cut her wife off with a wink.

"I knew you would say that…" Emma mumbled. "So what's the catch? "

"Well, if you get to drive that damn thing, I get to repaint the bedroom in that purple color I fell in love with months ago… So, do we have a deal, baby?" lily smirked as she held out her hand for Emma to shake. At first the younger blonde hesitated, then rolled her eyes, feeling a shiver shot through her spine.

She wondered if she should really agree, because she wasn't a big fan of the idea of having a purple bedroom. But then again, if that was the only thing she had to do, to be able to drive the car of her dreams across the country with the love of her life in the passenger seat… then it suddenly felt totally worth it. She could live with a purple bed room for that.

"Deal" Emma replied as she took her wife's hand, then pulled her into a kiss.

Regina was running around her house like crazy, trying to get everything done and organized before heading over to her sister Zelena's house for dinner.

It wasn't like Regina's sister lived that far away, but it was too far to walk there so it meant Regina had to take her car... She didn't like the idea a bit because she had finally managed to get pregnant, and doing such a simple thing as driving her car, felt scary.

Regina didn't admit it out loud but she was utterly terrified of the possibility of getting into some kind of accident that would lead to a miscarriage.

It didn't matter that it was a incredibly small risk something would happen though… there was still a risk.. And she had fought so hard to get where she was today, and endured so much heartbreak... Regina knew she would not be able to handle another miscarriage. The last one had almost broken her and in all the chaos she had also been left by her girlfriend, Mal.

They had been high-school sweethearts, and both had dreamed of starting a family of their own. Sadly it had never happened, and the two miscarriages Regina went through took a huge toll on them both. And one morning Regina had woken up alone in her bed, with a handwritten note, and nothing else. She hadn't even read it, just tossed it away it the trash, as Mal had done with her heart.

Mal didn't know that Regina was pregnant again, but then again, why should she.. As far as the brunette knew, she lived in some other town now, and she tried to not think about it. Even if she cried herself to sleep almost every night, hating the fact that she was alone…

As she packed the car, Regina shook her head to clear it from such thoughts. She was already worried about this trip, so she didn't need to give herself even more anxiety by thinking about her ex as well.. So she hummed a song her father frequently sung to her when she couldn't relax as a kid, and it helped at least a bit. Not much, but it was better than nothing.

"I know I'm going crazy… right, little one?" The brunette chuckled as she put one of her hands gently on her stomach, and took the kick she felt as a yes. She was three months pregnant now, so Regina frequently talked to the little baby who grew in her stomach and by doing so she always felt less alone.

Regina knew she was expecting a girl, but she hadn't told anyone in her family about it. Not even her mother knew, and Regina told her _everything_.

"So little one, are we ready,hm? " Regina asked as she locked the house and climbed into her Mercedes. She fastened her seatbealt before even starting her car and Regina let her hands dance over the steering wheel, as she catched her breathe.

If Zelena had known about how scared her little sister was of driving, she would most likely have driven there to pick her up, but Regina hadn't said anything. She didn't want to ask her family for more, because the brunette already felt guilty for all the help she had gotten throughout the years.

Emma smiled widely as she closed the trunk to the Camaro, climbed into the car and then backed it out of the driveway, and soon enough Lily opened the car door and jumped in. Seeing her wife's appearance, made Emma feel how her jaw drop.

Lily's brunette hair was in a sloppy ponytail, and Lily was wearing Emma's red leather jacket along with a black pair of jeans that made her ass look incredible. But then again, lily could look sexy and beautiful in a damn garbage bag, and Emma felt her heart skip a beat. Sometimes the blonde couldn't believe she had such a beautiful woman to call her own.

"Earth to Emma!" Lily said, then cleared her throat and finally their eyes met.

"Huh? "

"maybe I should reconsider letting drive this beast if you're gonna stare at me with those hungry eyes.. " Lily said with a chuckle, bringing Emma back to the present.

"Oh shut up you idiot" the younger blonde replied with a goofy face as she put the car in gear. "I will be damned if I can't drool over my sexy wife as much as I please"

The motor roared and Emma almost thought she was dreaming. She had fought so hard to get to where she was today and that thought made her so proud!

Emma's life had been everything but easy, but Lily had helped her turn it around. So here she was, behind the steering wheel of her absolute dream car along with her wife. She couldn't want more. Didn't ask for more either.

The road laid empty and it was just them against the world. As it always had been and always would be.

"I love you" Emma said as she glanced over at Lily.

"I love you too, even if you're a bit annoying sometimes" she replied and laid her hand over Emma's, then gave it a gentle squeeze.

Then it happened. Something that would change their life forever.

A loud sound caught Emma's attention, and she quickly realized she had blown a tire, but she didn't have a chance to react… it was like everything happened in slow-motion as Emma lost control over the car. Lily screamed even more when the car skidded over to the wrong side of the road, and smashed into the only car that they had seen for miles.

Then everything became dark.

"Gina? " a gentle, but concerned voice asked and Regina hissed in pain as she blinked her sleepy eyes open.

"Zelena?" she replied in confusion, then felt how her whole body was hurting. It didn't take more then seconds after that before the panic started to set in, as she suddenly remembered what had happened and her thoughts went to her unborn baby. Had she survived? It was then her sister grabbed her hand to give it a gentle squeeze, and Regina felt a bit of hope spread inside her.

"Relax sis, your little baby girl is doing just fine. Don't worry. she's a fighter, just as her mom" Zelena replied with a smile as she gave Regina a ultrasound picture, that brought tears to her eyes.

"She… she's still alive? " Regina stuttered and even if Zelena nodded her yes, She couldn't believe it.

But when it finally sunk in, she smiled as she never had done before in her whole life. Her baby was still alive and she was holding the first picture of her daughter in her shaking hands.

Seconds later Regina's confused eyes met Zelena's calm ones.

"The other driver.. ? " the brunette asked, her voice dripping with anxiety and Zelena shook her head.

"neither of the two other women survived… "

Regina swallowed hard but the lump in her throat only became bigger and bigger. She had been so happy just seconds ago, but now she felt terrible. She and her baby had survived while two others had died. Innocent people..

"What were their names? " Regina asked, all of a sudden.

"Huh? " Zelena frowned.

"I want to know their names. " Regina barked and her sister nodded, then disappeared to check with the doctor to see if she could get the names.

When she returned a few minutes later, Regina was holding the ultrasound picture as it was the first and last time she would see her beloved baby.

"Their names were Emma and Lily" Zelena replied when she sat down next to the bed again. "Even if I don't really know why you insisted of knowing that? "

"Because I haven't given my baby girl a name just yet. And now she has one." Regina replied with tears in her eyes.

Regina's baby was a miracle and it wasn't like she wanted to remember this day, but in some way, she did. She wanted to remember how she had survived what had been supposed to kill her, but she also wanted to give the women who had lost their lives that day, a chance to still live on in a way.

Emma Lily Mills.

Regina's daughter grew up to be a beautiful girl and she was incredibly social. Something Regina made sure to tell her, was why she had gotten the names she had and Zelena had gone the extra mile to find out where the two women laid buried.

They frequently visited the grave for some reason,always put a bouquet of red roses by their tombstones, not really sure about why, but one day as they did so, they bumped into two older persons, one man and one woman who stood by the graves as they came. Regina froze but her daughter didn't mind them, as she took the bouquet of roses from her mother, then ran up to the tombstone with Emma's name on and laid them there.

"Who are you? " Emma asked carefully and Regina walked up to her daughter, to grab her daughters hand, but she was to fast to stop her, as she made her way to them. The women dried her eyes and met the small girl with a sad smile.

"I'm Mary and this is my husband David. This is our daughter's grave and that's her wife's grave.. " the pixie brunette said as her voice cracked.

"I'm named after those two! " Emma said and it was then Regina cut her daughter off, as her eyes met the older woman's eyes, because she felt almost like they intruded. And well, in a way they did.

"I'm sorry for my daughter's manners. I'm Regina Mills" She said as she held out her hand to shake. Mary seemed confused, unable to speak after hearing the young girls words so it was David who shook her hand instead and offered her a crooked smile.

"ah, it's you who always leave those beautiful roses, yes? " he inquired.

"Yes I'm sorry if it make you feel uncomfortable but I have done this for years.. Ehm.. " Regina said as she took a deep breath before she found the courage to continue. "I was in the car crash that took their lives, but I survived. And so did this little girl who I was pregnant with at the time..."

"You were? " Mary asked, her eyes wideded, suddenly able to speak again.

"Yes. And I wanted to name my daughter after them because even if they didn't survive that day, they still live on in some way in my daughter"

Mary broke down in tears and David laid a arm around his wife, pulling her close, then placed a kiss on her forehead.

"You should only know Regina how your little girl reminds me about how our Emma was in that age, in some wierd way and she two was very social and manners wasn't something she had, at least not as a kid" David chuckled.

It was then a idea formed in Regina's head as she glanced over to her daughter then to Mary and David.

"I know it's maybe a odd and wierd question but then again, this isn't a daily situation… But if you want too, maybe you want to be little Emma's God parents? "

Mary broke down once again in tears, then nodded eagerly.

"we would love to"

"Can we talk about this, what now this is, when we eat momma? I'm hungry" the girl said with a pout. She always made sure her mother bought her food at the local diner after visiting the graveyard.

"Yes dear, we can." Regina chuckled.

Emma grinned, then grabbed Mary's hand and as they walked away, they were talking and laughing and David met Regina's eyes.

"My wife haven't been happy since the accident, she has barely even smiled. And now.. Look at her. She's even laughing! Believe me when I say this, but Mary finally looks like the woman I fell in love with again. And I can't thank you enough for this. "

Regina just smiled at him. She wasn't normally a person who would do something like this, but after giving birth to her daughter, and surviving such a terrible car crash, she had realized that had to embrace the only life she had. And her daughter had been the reason.

 _Little Emma Lily Mills._


End file.
